Mekato's Colombian Bakery

• resultPass
• critical violations1
• last inspectedMay 6, 2026
• address5423 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago 60625

Is Mekato's Colombian Bakery clean?

Mekato's Colombian Bakery is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on May 6, 2026. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Mekato's Colombian Bakery?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 6, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • MUST PROVIDE HANDWASHING SIGNAGE IN THE CUSTOMER RESTROOM.
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • OBSERVED SOIL ACCUMULATION ON THE FAN GUARDS IN THE WALK-IN COOLER. INSTRUCTED TO DETAIL CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED CARDBOARD BOXES BEING USED AS FLOOR MATS IN THE REAR BAKING PREP AREA UNDER COOKING EQUIPMENT. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE CARDBOARD OR REPLACE WITH MATS THAT ARE SMOOTH AND EASILY CLEANABLE.

When was Mekato's Colombian Bakery last inspected?

Mekato's Colombian Bakery has 21 inspections on record going back to February 4, 2014. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Mekato's Colombian Bakery vs Lincoln Square

Lincoln Square runs 59% clean across 922 tracked restaurants — 536 clean, 152 mid, 228 cooked.

Against the 922 spots Cooked tracks in Lincoln Square, this one comes out cleaner than 41% of them.

Other spots in Lincoln Square

• ✓ Tony's Finer Foods
  clean · March 17, 2026
• ✓ Tony's Finer Foods
  clean · May 2, 2014
• ✓ Starbucks Coffee
  clean · December 17, 2024
• ✓ Lebail
  clean · September 28, 2015
• ✓ Mariano's
  clean · March 13, 2026
• ✓ Mariano's
  clean · March 20, 2014

See every restaurant inspection in Lincoln Square →

How Chicago grades restaurants

Chicago does not use letter grades. Every inspection ends in one of three official results: Pass, Pass with Conditions, or Fail. Pass with Conditions means violations were found but corrected on the spot or under a deadline — the restaurant is open, with homework. A Fail means serious violations went uncorrected, and it usually brings a re-inspection within days. Chicago also flags “priority” violations, the ones most likely to actually make someone sick. Cooked reads Pass as clean, Pass with Conditions as mid, and Fail as cooked, and shows the itemized violations behind each result.

Source: Chicago Department of Public Health via Chicago Data Portal. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated May 6, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.